Sperm Cell, University of California San Diego (image)

University of California - San Diego

Caption

Immediately after a sperm fertilizes an egg, the SPRK1 enzyme leads the first step in untangling a sperm's genome, kicking out special packing proteins called protamines, which opens up the paternal DNA and allows for major reorganization -- all in a matter of hours.

Credit

Lan-Tao Gou

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